Sahl ibn Hunayf

Sahl ibn Hunayf (may God be pleased with him) ibn Wahib al-Ansari al-Awsi, kunya Abu Sa'd — also given as Abu Sa'id; he witnessed Badr and every later campaign with the Messenger of God ﷺ, stood firm at Uhud when the people fled — he had given the pledge unto death that day — and shot arrows in defence of the Prophet. ¹

Abu Umama ibn Sahl transmitted from his father that on a campaign with the Prophet he passed a river and bathed in it — he was a man of fine physique — and Amir ibn Rabi'a saw him and said: I have never seen anything like today, nor a hidden skin so fair. Sahl was struck down on the spot; he was brought to the Prophet, who said to him: would one of you deliberately kill his brother? Then he said: when one of you sees in his brother, in himself or his property, something that pleases him, let him bless it — for the evil eye is real. ²

He kept close company with Ali ibn Abi Talib (may God be pleased with him), who showed him great regard; when Ali marched him from Medina to Basra he left him in charge of Medina, and Sahl fought beside him at Siffin. Ali appointed him over the land of Fars but its people expelled him, so Ali put Ziyad ibn Abihi over it and they made terms and paid the kharaj. Sahl died in Kufa in 38 AH; Ali prayed over him and pronounced six takbirs, saying: he was a man of Badr. His sons Abu Umama and Abd al-Malik, Ubayd al-Sabbaq, Abu Wa'il, Abd al-Rahman ibn Abi Layla and others transmitted from him. ²